This is an amazing savory quark recipe - a cheese pie made with feta and layers of pastry, a Romanian-style borek called Dobrogeana.
This is one of the best savory quark recipes I have had in my life! I mean it! I could not stop eating this quark pie!
And I wasn't alone there, everyone sitting at the table had the same problem... Four adults, two kids, and a whole tray full of cheese pie … three pieces left to take to work the next day... nothing else. And trust me, this pie was huge, actually large enough to feed 10 people. The greed, I am telling you!
It is a quite well-known kind of pie in Romania, the Placinta Dobrogeana under its original name. Check out another amazing savory pie - the Turkish Spinach Pie. Or make these traditional Romanian Cheese Pies with feta and dill.
Featured comment: Thank you for this recipe! My grandmother was from northern Greece and used to make a dish VERY similar to this one (she made hers in a circle pie shape). It was so wonderful and I thought I would never have it again but this one tasted so much like hers! My only changes were that I used phyllo dough then cottage cheese instead of quark. I think my grandmother used butter instead of olive oil so I may try it with butter the next time I make it. So delicious - thanks again!!
Jump to recipe
Recipe ingredients
Pastry: I used yufka pastry, which is easily found in Turkish shops in Germany, but filo pastry works too. The package had 15 sheets, around 17x20 inches/ 43x30 cm, but any similar size will work.
Cheese: Turkish feta is also the best choice, but any other feta you like will be OK as well. Buy a block of feta and not the already crumbled one; it makes a world of difference when it comes to taste. These Albanian Byrek Rolls are also made with pastry and feta.
Quark: I used quark in the filling to replace Romanian branza de vaci. I like quark for its fresh taste, and the low-fat version I use for most baking is very low in calories, which is great for making cheese pie. Make these simple Quark Muffins, too. Or Pasca - Romanian Easter Bread.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make a savory quark pie?
The pastry: I prefer to prep all the pastry layers first, spreading them out on my large kitchen table. Once they’re all brushed and layered, I divide the cheese filling evenly. Keep unused pastry sheets covered with a kitchen towel.
Steps #1 and #2: Take one sheet, brush lightly with olive oil, then place another sheet on top and brush again. Repeat with a third sheet and brush once more. Place cheese filling on one half of the yufka, leaving space around the edges. Fold the other half over and brush with a little oil.
Step #3: Fold the sides of the pastry towards the middle to form creases, as shown in the pictures. Repeat until all the pastry and filling are used. Each layer should consist of 3 pastry sheets layered with olive oil in between.
Step #4: Place each formed, creased pastry assembly into the prepared pan.
Step #5: When everything is in the pan, cut 3 times across the filled pastry; it will make things easier for you when the pie is ready to serve. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Storage
The savory quark pie is best served on the day you baked it, but it will remain delicious for several days.
Refrigerate: To store quark pie with cheese and pastry, let it cool completely. Then, cover it tightly with plastic wrap or foil or place it in an airtight container. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 3–4 days.
Freezing: If you want to store it longer, you can freeze it for up to 1–2 months.
To reheat, simply bake in the oven until heated through or microwave in short intervals.
How to serve the quark pie?
Serve this quark pie, preferably hot from the oven, with a salad on the side, if you wish. However, the leftover pieces eaten at room temperature the next day were delicious as well.
Savory Quark Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Deep baking tin about 12x9 inches/ 30x22 cm, Note 1 - important!
Ingredients
- 14 oz yufka pastry or filo pastry, Note 2
- olive oil for brushing
- 5 large eggs
- 9 oz feta Note 1
- 9 oz low-fat quark
- 1 ½ cup Greek yogurt
- fine sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C. Brush a deep baking tin with olive oil.
Filling:
- Mix: Place the eggs into a large bowl and beat them well with a fork or a whisk. Crumble the feta into the bowl, add quark and yogurt, and mix well with the fork. Add salt to taste; it depends on how salty the feta cheese is.5 large eggs + 9 oz feta + 9 oz low-fat quark + 1 ½ cup Greek yogurt + fine sea salt
- Don't overmix; you want the mixture to be somewhat crumbly from the feta, it should not become a paste.
Assemble:
- Keep the pastry sheets you are not working with covered with a kitchen towel in the meantime. I prefer to prepare all the pastry layers first, spread them on my very large kitchen table, and when they are ready, divide the cheese filling evenly between the sheets.
- Pastry layer: Take one pastry sheet and brush it lightly with olive oil. Place another sheet on top and brush again. Repeat with a third pastry sheet and brush again.14 oz yufka pastry + olive oil
- Add filling: Place some cheese filling on only one half of the yufka pastry, leaving a little bit of space around the edges. Fold the other half of the pastry on top of it. Brush the folded half again with a bit of oil.
- Push the sides of the pastry towards the middle so that the whole thing forms creases; see the pictures.
- Repeat until you have used all of your pastry and filling. Keep in mind that each layer of pastry should be made out of 3 pastry sheets layered on top of each other with olive oil in between.
- Cut: Place each formed, creased pastry assembly into the prepared pan. When everything is in the pan, cut 3 times across the filled pastry, it will make things easier for you when the pie is ready to serve.
- Bake: Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- The baking dish needs to be deep to avoid messing up your oven with the runny cheese filling. Mine is about 2 inches/ 5 cm deep.
- Pastry: My yufka pastry pack contained 15 sheets of approximately 17x20 inches/ 43x30 cm. Of course, you do not need these exact sizes precisely; more or less is OK.
- Feta: Preferably sheep's feta, but cow's feta is also ok. Buy a block of feta, not already crumbled feta.
Valentina Alexieva says
I think using phyllo or yufka is important, it is a different dish, one is banicza the other is yufka!. I am Bulgarian I never seen the two confused.
Adina says
Hi Amy. I am so glad you liked the pie and that it reminded you of your grandmother's pie. Cottage cheese sounds great, I use it myself sometimes for similar recipes. And phyllo is perfect, more Greek I suppose, I usually go for yufka because unlike phyllo I can buy just about anywhere here.
Amy Kugali McWilliams says
Thank you for this recipe! My grandmother was from northern Greece and used to make a dish VERY similar to this one (she made hers in a circle pie shape). It was so wonderful and I thought I would never have it again but this one tasted so much like hers! My only changes were that I used phyllo dough then cottage cheese instead of quark. I think my grandmother used butter instead of olive oil so I may try it with butter the next time I make it. So delicious - thanks again!!
mjskitchen says
What an absolutely gorgeous pie! I've never seen anything like it. Quark? That's a new cheese to me, but I have never met a cheese I didn't like. My family would love this!
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I have never heard of this cheese pie, or quark and yulfka, but I want them all now. This looks so good!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe, Adina.
Kelly Mahan says
I've never tried making cheese pie before, but this looks so good that I'll have to try. Thank you for the recipe!
KR says
This is something I really love. I never used yufka, but I will try this recipe with filo.
Interesting is, that for me cheese pastries and pies not Turky but Georgia or Greek cuisine 🙂 :). But anyway same region and maybe just some differeces in seasoning 🙂 🙂
Sissi says
Wow! It looks and sounds amazing! I often bake with filo and as you say, it's a good replacement for yufka, so I will add it to my to do list.
I find the way you roll and place the pastry in the form really fascinating!
It's a pity we only have basic greasy kebabs here as "Turkish" food because from what I read and see sometimes on travel tv programs, it seems really fascinating....